The 2026 Illinois State Fair butter cow carries this year’s event theme of “Miles of Smiles” for the centennial of Route 66.
Governor JB Pritzker, First Lady MK Pritzker, Illinois County Fair Queen Krista Phillips, Midwest Dairy Farmer Relations Manager Kendra Anderson and Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark unveiled the 106th butter cow of the fair in the Dairy Building of the fairgrounds on Wednesday.
A companion sculpture features a woman and her dog heading out on Route 66 in search of ice cream.
Again this year, the butter cow features 13 hidden hearts to represent the 13 essential nutrients in dairy. Sarah Pratt sculpted the cow as she has done since 2006, using 1,000 pounds of butter donated by Prairie Farms.
